Parents at a primary school near Chelmsford have vowed to fight to keep it open.

St Mary's Church of England Primary in Woodham Ferrers is facing possible closure after Essex County Council (ECC) announced that dwindling pupil numbers means the school is not sustainable.

The school is currently in a loose federation with schools in Canewdon and Rayleigh, meaning executive head teacher Lorna Pigram is running three schools under the stewardship of an Interim Executive Board (IEB).

The IEB was put in place by ECC in June 2017 after concerns were raised over how the previous governing body was running.

But just over a year into their leadership, the prospect of closure loomed large over the small school.

A public meeting, held by representatives from the council, was held last Wednesday and invited parents and those with ties to the school to ask questions and voice their concerns.

The meeting marked part of a consultation period which will run until the end of November.

Should the school close, Collingwood Primary, in South Woodham Ferrers, has been identified as able to take on current students if their parents wish to sent them there.

Now, a group of parents are leading a campaign to keep their school open. We sat down with them to discuss their plans.

Parents and pupils at St Mary's Church of England School in Woodham Ferrers have vowed to save their school from closing (Image: Chris Cook)

Rob Fraser, 40, lives in Nevendon but believes St Mary's is so good for his children he is prepared to travel over eight miles every day so they can attend it.

"When we win this fight, we are not going to stop promoting the school. It has been shown that the school needs help from the community," he said.

"It is a community school, it is time we became active in the community."

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"It was the same responses to so many questions. They were not answering anything but just turning over the next card."

Headteacher, Lorna Pigram, was on the panel at the meeting but largely stayed silent until she was prompted to speak from the crowd.

She said: "My priority is for the children at this school. We have fantastic staff here who are working really hard here.

"I do not want the same as everybody here to see the school closed but I want to give every child here the best possible start."

When describing Ms Pigram, Rob said: "She looked upset. I think she is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"There is an opportunity here for the head to make a name for herself and be the head to save the school. That is quite the thing to have on a dossier."

Why save it?

The panel were grilled by a crowd of angry parents

Rob's friend, Stephen McMullon, is also a parent at the school. He feels the size of it creates the perfect conditions for education.

He said: "I went to school there, my kids went to school there.

"I do not want my kids to go to larger schools where they become a number.

"It is proven that kids who go to rural schools end up doing better and it is because of that one-to-one.

"I built a house here because I wanted my kids to go to that school."

Steve claims that the school has not been promoted well by the IEB, adding that in a matter of days they have managed to get 12 new students to enroll for the next academic year.

The 'unofficial PTA' has also organised a school open day for Tuesday, November 22, between 9.30am and 11.30am and have set up a fundraising page aimed to get enough money to keep it going.

Rob added: "It would be very damaging for a council to close a community school that has got such a level of community backing for it.

"People in the village have had four generations go to that school."

And that statement was no greater evidenced than at the meeting when an elderly gentleman spoke out during a member of the diocese's speech to say that his grandmother was one of the first pupils to go to school when it first opened its doors in 1887.

"The meeting showed the community are behind us," Rob added. "If nothing else, all they have done is consolidate the parents and bring them together."

The strength of feeling within the village is clear - they want their school to stay.

Ms Kershaw said: "We would like to thank everyone that attended last week’s public meeting, to discuss the future of St Mary's.

"A number of important comments were raised, which we will now consider as part of the consultation."

An extraordinary meeting for Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre Parish Council has been called, inviting councillors across the county council to attend on November 6 between 6 and 7.15pm at The Chapel in Woodham Ferrers.